Conventional vehicles provide a number of courtesy lights for the convenience of the operator. For instance, automobiles are equipped with a passenger compartment light, left and right side door lights, dashboard lights and an engine compartment light, etc. These lights are marginally effective in many situations because of their fixed position. For this reason many operators carry a flashlight for working on the engine, changing tires or searching in obscure places such as under the seat. However, flashlights are inconvenient because they take up additional space in the glove compartment. Moreover, flashlight batteries are often found to be dead in those situations when the operator needs the flashlight most. Attempts have been made to overcome the problem of dead batteries by using electrical cords that can be plugged into the cigarette lighter. Such flashlights may operate directly from the car's electrical system, or they may be equipped with a rechargeable battery which recharges from the car's electrical system. In either case, the cord restricts the flashlights freedom of movement, and the flashlight continues to occupy glove compartment space.
Another more successful attempt in solving the above problems is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,134. Here is shown a rechargeable flashlight and mounting assembly which allows the flashlight to be mounted in the passenger compartment of an automobile for use as an interior light. A mounting plate is provided which connects to the vehicle electrical system so that the battery can be recharged while the vehicle is in operation. Unfortunately, the discussed concept is not efficiently implemented. The device is designed to be retrofitted and does not conveniently mount within the interior panels of the vehicle. When the light is mounted in the passenger compartment an inconvenient and possibly dangerous protrusion exists. Moreover, the configuration of the battery contacts provides an unstable electrical connection to the mounting bracket, and the contacts themselves are susceptible to breaking off. In addition, the illustrated light bulb and charging circuit are designed to operate from a 12 V battery which, if intended to drive the light bulb for any length of time, must be much larger than standard 1.5 V batteries.